Back in Time

I made my way over to the V&A yesterday for a workshop in Wet Plate Collodion photography conducted by the legendary (in certain circles) couple, France (Scully) and Mark Osterman. It was a supremely interesting day, and I came away from it with a tin-type portrait of yours truly and the intention of taking up yet another time consuming pursuit. It's amazing what a little ether, alcohol, silver nitrate, and cyanide will produce, and at some point I'll get around to starting the process and scanning some of the results. In the meantime, why not pay a visit to the Osterman's website and, if you can, sign up for one of their workshops. You'll learn a lot, no doubt about it. If you'd like to pique your curiosity a bit, have a look at the documentary made about Sally Mann and her take on the world, titled What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann. Here's a preview:

Incidentally, there's a Sally Mann show titled From the Family and the Land on at the Photographer's Gallery that will run through to September 19th.